Shoe drying attachment



April 1937- J. P. LEINDORF 2,076,735

SHOE DRYING ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 1'7, 1936 JOSEPH P- L'E/A DORFINVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a shoe drying attachment for electric hot airblowers.

An object of this invention is to provide means whereby heated air froman electric air blower 5 and heater enters a tubular guide nozzle havina flared outlet which is designed to permit reversal in direction of airflow into the shoe and so that the air may freely leave the shoe whilethe drying operation is being performed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nozzle having a flaredand constricted or flattened outlet defined by upper and lower walls,the lower w-all extending at an angle with the apex directed centrallyoutward, and the upper 15 wall being curved all along its length intothe tubular nozzle and forming a channel which permits outward flow ofthe hot air entering the shoe through said nozzle.

Another object of this invention is to provide 20 a portable nozzleattachment of the character described which may be used for drying shoeswhile resting on a floor in normally upright position.

With the above and other objects in view, the D invention will behereinafter more particularly described in connection with theaccompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims which form part ofthis specification. 1

Reference will now be had to the drawing, 9 wherein like numerals ofreference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, inwhich:

Figure l is a side elevation of the drying attachment in operativeposition in a shoe.

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal cross-sectional view of theattachment.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the attachment.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the inlet portion of theattachment, the section being taken as on line 44 in Figure 2.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the numeral l0 indicatesan electric air-blower of the portable type, having a handle I l bywhich it is gripped. The blower It] comprises a motor and a fan whichsucks air through an inlet l2 and discharges it into an outlet IS. Themotor casing carries a resistance or heating element (not shown) as iswell known in the art.

- A shoe-drying attachment or nozzle [4 has been secured to the outlet[3, preferably in frictional engagement. The attachment or nozzle [4 hasa curved tubular body l5 substantially in the form of a right-angle. Asshown in Figure 3, the nozzle M has a flaring and constricted outlet I6defined by an upper wall I! and a lower wall l8 which are slightlyspaced apart, the lower wall I8 being angularly directed and extendingoutwardly more than the upper wall, as shown in Figure 3. The nozzle hasa tubular inlet I9,- having a cross-section corresponding to thecrosssection of the outlet l3 from the blower.

The upper wall ll of "the outlet [6 has a central concave portion 20 andthis concavity extends all the way from the lower end 2| of the wall l-lup to the inlet 19 of the nozzle. This concave portion forms a channelwhich permits outward flow of air entering the shoe 22 through thenozzle I4.

The apex 23 of the angularly directed wall l8 has been curved upwardlyto face the channel 20, so as to aid in reversing the direction of flowof the air from the downward direction inside the nozzle into an upwarddirection into the channel 29 outside the nozzle.

The cross-section of the inlet into the attachment may be varied to suitdifferent crosssections of outlets from existing air blowers, or theattachment may be made to form an integral part of an electric airblower.

The flared or outwardly widened and con stricted outlet ll serves thepurpose of increasing the force with which the hot air from the electricair blower strikes the tip of the wet shoe and carries out theevaporated matter more rapidly.

The normal foot causes a minimum temperature of 90 F. in a shoe. Whenwalking outdoors during cold weather, the air inside the shoe isexcessively warm and as the cold air strikes the shoe from the outsidethe evaporation from the foot is liquefied, and the shoe becomes wet andcauses bromidrosis. The bacteria responsible for this condition maysurvive in the damp shoe and cause further complications.

The tip of a shoe is the wettest portion. It practically impossible todry the tip of a wet shoe by mere exposure to the air in a room. It isnecessary to cause a forced circulation of air into and out of the wetshoe in order to effectively and quickly dry the tip of a shoe. While itmay be possible to dry the tip of a shoe by a forced circulation of coldair or by the production of a vacuum, I have found that the best effectis produced when the air is heated. It takes less than two minutes todry a wet shoe when using the device herein disclosed.

The flared and constricted outlet of the attachment is also, desirablefor drying moist hair on the head of a person because of the large areaupon which the air may blow from the flared outlet. The flared outletalso eliminates a great deal of the excessive motions of the arm of theuser usually made when using an electric air blower having the usualnon-flared tubular outlet.

It is to be noted that I may provide a plurality of holes 24 and 25 inthe bottom and rear of the shoe-shaped attachment so as to dry the soleand rear surfaces of the shoe simultaneously with the drying "ofthe'tip.

I claim as my invention:

1. A portable shoe drying attachment having a linear bottomsubstantially coextensive'with' the sole of a, shoe and being designedforv insertion into an upright shoe whilesupportinganair blower at itsupper end, comprising ,a curved tubular body forming substantially aright angle, said body having a constricted outlet extending into theshoe to the tipand being defined by upper and lower walls, said'wallsbeing-slightly tion into an upright shoe while supporting an air blowerat its upper end, comprising a curved tubular body, said body having aconstricted outlet extending into the shoe to the tip and being definedby up r and lower walls, said walls being slightly spaced apart, thelower wall extending outwardly more than the upper wall, the upper wallbeing curved all along its length into said tubular body and forming achannel permitting outward flow ofiair enteringmsaid shoe .through saidbody, the :apex of said' lower wall' being upwardly curved and facingsaid channel, and said attachment having apertures in the bottom and'rear surfaces thereof for drying the sole and the 'rearlinners surfacesof the shoe.

3 A portable shoe drying attachment havin a linear bottom substantiallycoextensive with 'ithesole of ashoe-and being designed for insertionintoan upright shoe while supporting air circulating means at, its upperend, comprising a curved tubular body formingsubstantially a a rightangle, said-body-having a -constricted outlet extendinginto .t he sh oeto 'thei-tip and being defined by upper and-lowerwalls,"-saidwa=lls-being slightly spaced apart, the lower wallbeingangu-

